Spencer Reid A New Path
by softxdxlllxball
Summary: Sequel to Spencer Reid EQUALS Propensity. Spencer tries to move on... but Fallon comes back. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT


Chapter One

_I've learned that you can do something in an __instant__ that will give you heartache for life._

It had been nearly three months since Spencer Reid and Fallon Sawyer had last seen each other. Spencer had remembered that night like it was yesterday…

_Spencer had confronted Fallon that night that she wasn't okay after they had gone on a double date. Fallon had been angry with him, even though she hadn't told him that to his face. She had gone home upset and Spencer had heard that Fallon had tried to… end her life… He must've gotten a call around one in the morning. He woke up groggy and cursed who ever was calling. He immediately sprung wide awake when he heard the news from her biological father. Spencer could easily tell that he'd been crying. When Spencer put the phone on the receiver he was shaken. He couldn't believe that Fallon's problem was that bad. Though many victims of violent crimes have attempted suicide, he went to work the next day blaming himself. His friends tried to comfort him. Spencer finally decided that the more days apart he spent away from Fallon would be better… for the both of them. So far it had been. He hadn't received anymore phone calls saying that Fallon had passed away so he assumed she was getting the help that she needed, which was not including her mother's side of the family. Though Spencer still continued to worry…_

…

Derek Morgan looked over at Reid he was stuck in a daydream, or perhaps a nightmare.

"Reid," he stated. Reid shook his head and looked up.

"Hmm," he murmured.

"Are you alright?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, I was just thinking…" Morgan knew instantly what he was thinking about; he hadn't been like since Reid had been abducted three years ago.

"Everybody was thinking about cutting lose and eating somewhere after we get off work, you want to join?"

"Yeah that sounds good. Morgan…" Reid asked. Morgan looked up. "When did you tell Katelyn about Fallon?"

"I haven't." Morgan explained.

"So she's still lurking at the possibility that Fallon just decided not to call her?" Reid asked. Morgan nodded.

"I didn't know how to tell her." He explained moving a file to the finished stack on his desk. He wondered if there would ever be a day when they could stop doing paperwork.

"Is Katelyn coming, I mean you have been dating her for three months now… Don't you think it's about time that she met the rest of the team?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, trust me if her and Garcia met, I'd be at the butt of all of their jokes. She's a lot like her… personality wise at least." Morgan explained with a small laugh. Reid gave a smile. Reid hadn't visited the smile department much lately; it was a treat whenever he smiled these days.

"So where is everybody going to eat?" Reid asked. Morgan's thought froze… they had chosen the ESPN zone… well actually JJ had so she could kick the guys butts in the arcade after they finished eating.

"Reid," Morgan said softly. "We chose the ESPN Zone." Reid closed his eyes and shook his head and rubbed his temples. He never wanted to go back there again. That's were he had went on his last date with Fallon.

"Are you going to be okay?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah I'll be fine; I'll go with you guys." He explained.

"One day you'll think about her and it won't hurt anymore. Your heart will stop hurting." Morgan explained.

"I know; I just don't know when. I know that God has a plan, He's in charge." Reid explained. Morgan smiled. He knew Reid had tried to put things in a positive input lately. It helped Reid a lot, but he still had his bad days; from when he would have nightmares the night before. "I'm going to be okay."

…

"Katelyn…" Morgan said over the phone during lunch break.

"Hey Derek," she said.

"There's something I've got to tell you. But I've been holding off."

"What is it?"

"You know Fallon…"  
"That one girl I met three months ago? She never called me back."

"That's what I was getting to. I didn't want to tell you this, but she's in the hospital. She's really sick you see."

"Oh… what's wrong with her?"

"Katelyn,"

"What-what's wrong with her Derek?"

"She never called because she tried to commit suicide. I didn't want to upset you."

"Is she getting better?"

"We don't know."

"What about Spencer, her date. Does he know if she's getting better?" Morgan sighed no.

Chapter Two

Reid stood in his apartment later that night satisfied with that past day. He cracked a few smiles and had a few laughs. That uplifted his mood. Sometimes he was able to forget. He grabbed his watch off his nightstand and instinctively put it on over his sleeve. He got his keys and his wallet and headed to the community parking lot; he climbed in his Volvo and put the keys in the ignition. He backed out and headed the ESPN Zone. Spencer winced as he felt the flashbacks coming back.

_ "Hello Katelyn it's nice to meet you, I'm Spencer Reid." He explained as he took his seat next to Fallon. Fallon squeezed his hand. Spencer sighed; Fallon looked like she was okay, but like her sister she had been an actress. Who knew what tricks were up her sleeve? _

_ "So I've heard a lot about you from Derek, he's really happy that he met you." Spencer explained._

_ "Really?" Katelyn asked happily, Morgan blushed. Then a waiter came to their table.  
"What can I get for your drinks?" The waiter asked with a pleasant smile, he had his order pad out and ready. They all took it simple and ordered water. "Are you ready or do you need more time?"_

_ "More time please," Morgan explained. The waiter nodded and went to another table._

Spencer rubbed his forehead, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. But then again he had to face these memories like the ones he had to face about his childhood.

…

Morgan and the rest of the team, minus Reid were at the restaurant.

"Alright guys so as I explained before, but as it turned out Emily wasn't paying attention the first time I'll explain it again just for her." Morgan explained eyeing Emily.

"Hey What, I was totally paying attention!" Emily exclaimed playfully slapping him.

"So last time Reid was here was the last time he saw Fallon… and we all know what happened later that night. To lower his stress levels we won't have any conversations about the job, especially not suicide. Everybody got it?" Morgan asked. Everyone nodded. JJ looked down at the table. She knew exactly what Reid was going through. When her older sister had committed suicide when JJ was eleven she felt like the world was going to end. But eventually she found that sooner or later it wouldn't hurt to think about that person anymore, the pain went away, though the only person that JJ told this to was Hotch after a case this past year.

"Hey there's our boy!" Morgan exclaimed a few minutes later as Reid came through the doors. The team smiled and waved at him. Reid bit his lip and headed over. He took an empty seat next to JJ.

The team talked about the new things they have done, Reid shared statistics. Morgan and Garcia flirted. Hotch and Rossi weaned themselves into the more mature conversations. Emily and JJ chatted about new clothes or shoes that they had gotten. There were smiles all around, even with Reid. Then JJ nudged him. He looked up at her with a smile on her face. She leaned in real close and whispered in his ear.

"I know what you're going through." She explained. She pulled away and gave him a pat on the leg.

…

It was later that night and Spencer sat on his couch and wondered about what JJ said… I know what you're going through. What had happened to JJ, why hadn't she told him? They had been best friends since they met all those years ago. Why would JJ confine a secret from Reid? She knew he had no one to betray them to… except his mother which he told her everything out of habit. He shook his head and picked up the phone.

"Hey Reid," JJ stated.

"JJ, what did you mean by… you know what you told me?" Reid asked, his words had come out jumbled.

"Reid," she said quietly. "I had a sister that committed suicide."

"But Fallon didn't die." Reid explained.

"The pain still won't go away, she wasn't happy." She explained.

"I tried to help her."

"Sometimes she's going to need more then just your help."

"JJ,"

"Yeah,"

"Does the pain- does the pain ever seem to go away?"

"Have you seen those stories on the news about old crimes and how the family talks about their loved one?"

"Yeah I've seen cases like Mel Ignato and…"

"How did the victim's family talk about her and what were their emotions?"

"They were upset, but… but they learned to tell the story."

"Without pain,"

"Without pain," Reid repeated.

"The pain will go away Reid." Reid smiled, one day his heart wouldn't hurt…

Chapter Three

It was later that night and Morgan had invited Katelyn over.

"Hey sugar," he stated sweetly as he greeted her at the door with a kiss. He had her come in. Katelyn had something behind her back and Morgan knew that she wanted to show whatever it was to him.

"Alright what is it this time?" Morgan asked twisting his head to look over her shoulders.

"It's the best book I've read so far yet Derek." She explained. Derek raised an eyebrow when he saw how old and rag-tag it was… and it had no back or cover and the words on the spine had been worn away.

"This… is the best book you've ever read?" He asked dangling it from his right hand like it was trash.

"Hey, don't judge a book by its cover!" She laughed.

"Well this book doesn't have a cover or a back… so I'm sure this is an exception." Derek explained with a laugh.

"Come on, you said when I found a really good book you would read it." Katelyn explained.

"You keep bringing so many, claiming they're the best, I haven't even finished the first book you loaned to me." Morgan explained.

"That's because you're lazy Derek."

"The FBI Agent is lazy; I bust mine to save yours Katelyn!" He laughed; he pulled her in for another kiss. Then a knock came at the door. Morgan sighed. "I'll get it."

"Hey muffin," it was Garcia. Katelyn raised an eyebrow.

"It's Garcia," Morgan assured. He had told Katelyn about their playful relationship, he told her it would amount to nothing because they both were in relationships.

"So you're Garcia?" Katelyn asked.

"Yes my dear and I assume you're the lovely Katelyn Jennings?" Garcia asked. Katelyn nodded.

"I've heard a lot about you from Derek." Katelyn explained. Garcia raised a sneaky and happy eyebrow.

"Oh really and what has our lovely chocolate soldier said about me?"

…

Fallon knew where she was. She knew why. But what she didn't know was when she was going to get out.

…

TUESDAY

Reid sat at his desk; he had a good time last night. He saw JJ walk towards Morgan's desk.

"Hey Morgan… I heard that Garcia met Katelyn last night when she was dropping something off, when is the rest of the time going to meet her?" JJ asked.

"I don't know JJ, but I know the two of them could make my life miserable." Morgan explained.

"They have that much in common?" JJ asked amazed.

"Oh my God, they bonded instantly; Katelyn is like her clone or something. It's pretty scary JJ." Morgan explained.

"Yeah I'm definitely going to have to meet her." JJ explained before she headed back to her office.

…

It must've been an hour later when JJ came back to the bullpen area; they all knew what this meant…

"Conference room," JJ explained. Prentiss, Reid, and Morgan all shared glances… it meant there was a case.

They all took their usual spots at the round table and they waited for JJ start.

"Two weeks ago in Atlanta, GA Lawrence Miller was found at his home strangled with electrical cords. Two days ago Robert Winslow was found in his home also strangled with electrical cords. The Atlanta Field Office has requested immediate help." JJ explained.

"Are there any similarities between the two men?" Prentiss asked.

"They were both Power Line Technicians." JJ explained. Hotch then told them…

"Don't bother with a go bag.' He explained. Everyone exchanged confused looks.

"We're not taking the case?" JJ asked.

"We're taking the case; it will be solved before dinner time." He explained, "Wheels up in thirty." Everyone hoped he was right because none of them wanted to wear the same clothes if the case continued until tomorrow… or longer. When Hotch was out of earshot… Morgan stated…

"He better be right because I'm not wearing the same clothes for two days straight."

"I'm with you." Prentiss stated.

"I third that." Rossi joined in. Everyone cracked a small smile and realized that Rossi was still in the room.

"I fourth that." JJ explained with a laugh. Reid nodded.

"I fifth that motion," Reid explained.

Chapter Four

Wheels up, the team was now on their jet on their way to Atlanta, they had debriefed and they were working on tasks. Reid sat in his seat working on the geographical profile. He had already concluded that this killer wouldn't strike outside of the Atlanta area. He thought that this had to be some sort of inner personal problem, as the victims only had their job descriptions in common.

The team had concluded that it made sense for the unsub to use electrical wires because he must've suffered a tragedy involving electrical wires and now they were trying figure out why. When they arrived at Atlanta they headed to the Field office to present their findings.

"This man is emotionally unstable." JJ started.

"Yes, we think that this man is targeting these specific victims due to a personal matter." Hotch explained. Then an officer interrupted. "What guy holds grudges against Power Line Technicians?"

"Maybe a guy who suffered a lost due to down power lines," Reid suggested. Everyone glanced around the room showing looks that shouted eureka! Hotch paused to think for a minute, and then he told Morgan…

"Call Garcia, tell her to look up deaths due to down power lines in the Atlanta area." Hotch explained. As Morgan stepped into a hallway Hotch asked…

"When was the last big storm in Atlanta?"

"About a month ago, there were power lines down everywhere." One officer explained. Another one spoke up.

"There was this kid that died when they were messing around the down lines." He explained.

"Morgan," Hotch stated. Morgan poked his head through the doorframe, his cell phone to his ear. "Tell Garcia to narrow the search, the death of a kid. Uh… within the last month," Morgan nodded and stepped back into the hallway.

"Yeah did you get that Garcia?" Morgan asked once he was back in the hallway.

"Yeah sugar, I'm all over this scum bag." She explained. Morgan could hear her keyboard clicking away.

"Ah ha, you couldn't hide from Garcia now." She explained.

"You've got a name?" Morgan asked.

"Honey when don't I have a name?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah you're right… and the criminal of the day is…" Morgan asked.

"We have one Walter Ashby, his fourteen year-old son Zachary Ashby died last month when he was messing around the down power lines with some of his friends after a huge storm." Garcia explained. "I'm sending you his current address. Go get 'em tiger, Garcia out." Morgan smiled and nodded before he headed back into the room.

"Do you have a name?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah I've got a Walter Ashby at 5843 Chestnut Grove, Atlanta, GA." Morgan explained.

"We got him." Prentiss explained before the team headed out. They headed out of the Field Office and hurried to the Black SUV's and went on their way.

…

"Good morning Miss. Sawyer. I think you will be happy to hear this news."

…

Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan swamped the front door as Reid, Prentiss, and JJ surrounded the back door.

"Walter Ashby this is the FBI open up!" Morgan shouted. Hotch moved over to an open window and saw a frantic Ashby trying to flee. Hotch then said through his intercom to Reid…

"He's feeing to the back, we're going in. We need to keep him quartered." Hotch explained. He then nodded and Morgan lifted his leg and smashed down the door. A frightened Ashby saw the three men storm in and looked to the back door which had three more agents posted at it. Which at that point they came in too. Hotch grabbed his arms and held them while Morgan handcuffed him. Morgan then swung him around to face him and said…

"You're under arrest for the murders of Lawrence Miller, and Robert Winslow." He explained. Reid came out of a room which in his hands he had electrical cords and newspaper clippings.

"Now I must advise you of your rights under the Fifth Amendment under the Bill of Rights on the American Constitution. You can't be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except; you can't be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or; you can't be forced in any criminal case to be a witness against yourself, you can't be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; you can't have private property taken for public use, without compensation. Do you understand your rights?" Morgan asked. The man nodded shaken by this. Morgan handed him over to Rossi.

"Well that was quick." JJ explained amazed.

"Touché," Prentiss explained before she walked back outside and headed to one of the SUV's.

…

Reid sat in his seat on the jet, he looked out the window. Hotch had been right, this was a quick case and now everyone had a few hours to themselves. He sighed and slumped down in his seat, his head rested against the interior of the plane. JJ sat across from him, and he could tell that she was relieved that he was doing better, they were all relieved.

Chapter Five

Spencer returned home exhausted, despite the fact that he wanted to crawl in bed he decided to check his answering machine as he noticed he had missed a few calls. Some were the usual calls. He even had received one from Ethan. He was almost about to fall on the ground and sleep until he heard the last phone message.

"Hello Spencer, its Fallon Sawyer's father. I'm just calling to tell you that the hospital is releasing Fallon in two days. I just thought that I would call and tell you. Have a good night."

Spencer froze. They were releasing Fallon… that quickly? His palms got all sweaty. He couldn't believe it. He just had to tell someone.

"Morgan," Reid said into the phone.

"Reid what the hell, it's midnight; I'm trying to get some sleep here." Morgan said in a groggy and angry voice.

"Morgan I'm sorry but it's important… They're releasing Fallon from the hospital." Reid explained.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's only been three months. The things she went through usually takes a lot longer to get a grip on."

"Well she had three whole months just her, no interruptions. Reid maybe she's trying to reinvent herself, you know for the better."

"I don't know; I'm just worried I guess. Sorry for waking you up Morgan bye." Reid sighed and hung up the phone.

"_It's you." She said surprised._

"_Yeah, I saw you at the park last week, you were sketching right?" He asked he was adorable; he had ear length curly brown hair, high cheek bones, and captivating brown eyes. All Fallon could do was nod in amazement, he actually remembered her._

"_Sketching is considered a pictorial kind of note-taking.__A sketch is not usually intended as an autonomous work of art, although many have been considered masterpieces in their own right." He explained._

"_Really? I just thought it was drawing a picture, your thoughts and emotions." Fallon replied with a smile._

Spencer thought back to the day that he formally met Fallon. It had been wonderful, he had forgotten all about the fears and terrors that he had witnessed working at the BAU. For one day he had honestly felt like a normal person.

"_Actually a picture is a __visual representation of a person, object, or scene, as a painting, drawing, or photograph. Or it could be a visible or concrete embodiment of some quality or condition." He explained. She stared at him, looking at him, scanning every inch._

"_Would you like to sit?" She asked. He smiled then quickly sat down._

"_I like your shirt." He replied. Fallon had thrown on a pair of baggy gray sweatpants and an EINSTIEN t-shirt. It had the quote: __A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. She looked back up at his gaze._

"_Thanks, I love his quotes." Fallon responded. "Wait, but what's your name?" She asked._

_ "Spencer Reid." He responded. She nodded._

_ "Fallon Sawyer."_

It was all a crystal clear memory. Spencer wondered if Fallon would still be the same Fallon when she returned. The Fallon that he had met that day, not the sad, depressed Fallon from three months ago, even though the two had un-officially broken-up Spencer still had feelings for her. He hoped that she still felt this way. Even after all this time apart. He just someone that he could call his own, someone that he could call his girlfriend; that's all that Spencer wanted.

…

WEDNESDAY

"You've got all of your stuff right?" Mr. Sawyer asked that beautiful Sunday morning. The streaks of sunshine were beaming through the hospital curtains as Fallon double checked that she had everything.

"Yes daddy I am positive that I have everything." Fallon reassured him. Fallon was ready to be a part of the outside world again. She messed up big time. She regretted her decision everyday of her life. She wouldn't be here if her neighbor hadn't called the police. She couldn't leave Spencer without a goodbye. Spencer. She thought of his name again. She had tried to clear her mind of him ever since she got here. But she couldn't. She knew that he was someone special, she just couldn't get over all the pain she left him with; all the unanswered questions. She owed him.

"Well are you ready to go sweetheart?" Her father asked her.

"Yeah, I'm ready to get back home, start fresh." She explained. "There are some things that I've got to do."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me for a few weeks; to get back on your feet?" He asked.

"Daddy I'm going to be fine, I promise."

"I know, I just love you so much, I can't almost lose you again. You're all I've got." He explained; he was getting teary eyed.

"Dad you know I love you. It was the worst mistake I have ever made in my entire life. I would never leave you, I love you too much." She explained, she went and hugged her father.

"I know sweetheart, I know." He whispered.

Chapter Six

Reid sat at his desk the next day shaken. Morgan sighed and walked over to him.

"Kid are you going to be okay?"

"I-I don't know Morgan."

"Well just think they wouldn't release her if she wasn't ready."

"She was an actress Morgan."

"Yeah so, she couldn't fool you. I doubt that she is gonna fool any other doctors either."

"I'm just a little worried, you know if she will even acknowledge my presence. Or if she will fall for me."

"You'll know when she comes."

"If she comes,"

"Reid,"

"When she comes,"

"Atta boy," Morgan patted his shoulder and headed back to his desk.

…

"Yeah I hear you Katelyn! Derek can be such a sneak sometimes!" Garcia explained and clearly she was talking to Katelyn. The two had been inseparable and had planned to have a girl's night on Saturday.

"Yeah and guess what else I heard.., alright alright. I heard that they released Fallon Sawyer they were supposed to release her today, but they released her a day early! It's craz-"

"Yeah it is pretty crazy." Garcia spun around in her swivel chair and met Reid's eyes.

"Uh Katelyn, I gotta go. Yeah talk to you later bye. Reid I'm sorry I had to tell her."

"Garcia I'm not mad." He explained.

"Really,"

"Yeah, I just came to ask you something."

"Oh really, tell Auntie Penelope about your problems then."

"Well as you know Fallon is coming back… Do you think she still like me?"

"Reid I don't know her, but if she has you I know she'll come back."

"I hope you're right Garcia, thanks." He said before he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Garcia sat in wonder; she was surprised that he hadn't yelled at her. Reid didn't like people going through his personal life. If he wanted you to know something he'd tell you or ask you. Like the time he had Garcia go through the files on his fathers computer last year. Reid had held a strong grudge against his father for seventeen years. Reid was enraged when he found out that his father Googled him; he said "that makes up for everything." Garcia thought that she had been telling him good news.

…

Fallon returned back to her home. She looked around the yard, it was untamed and uncut. _At least there's something for me to do._ She walked down the walk to the entrance. She hesitated before she opened the door. She thought back to that night. Her father said that there had been blood everywhere and that it took days for him to clean the bathroom. Fallon felt a pull in her stomach when she opened the door. Everything looked the same. She walked down the hall and peered into the living room… her list sat on the couch. Where Spencer had left it that night, she felt a jerking pain in her stomach when she walked past the bathroom. She went up the stairs and headed to her bedroom. She sighed and smiled. She had missed this house so much and all the good memories it had left… the first memories that came to mind was the night that Spencer had kissed her on the couch.

"_Spencer," She sated. This time he looked at her. "I've felt the same way about you since the moment I laid my eyes on you." Then Spencer's __head slowly descended down towards Fallon's face, he paused, looking into her eyes, his nose barley touching hers, he bent his head to feather a light kiss on her lips__. __He slowly moved__his head back to look into Fallon's face. Her eyes were open, and he cradled her gentle frame with his hands. He lowered his head once more and his lips grazed her nose, and when her eyes finally closed his lips brushed hers once more__. __He raised his head and looked at her face; she spread a wide smile across it._

"_The way you make me feel," she stated._

She flopped on her bed, it felt so warm, so soft, so welcoming. The sunshine crept through the shades and shone brightly on her face. It was enough to make her curl up and fall asleep in her bed for the first time in three months.

…

"I really think he's head over heels for that girl." Morgan explained to Garcia during their lunch break.

"Yeah, how long did they date for? Like a week?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah, she's got to be someone special." He explained. He looked over to see Reid filling his cup with some coffee and a lot of sugar.

"She's going to come around." Garcia explained, biting into her apple.

"To him she's special, like how you're special to me." Morgan explained.

"Ah hot stuff you flatter me!" Garcia exclaimed.

Chapter Seven

Work day over. Spencer got together his belongings and headed out.

"Have a good one Reid." Prentiss called out to him.

"Yeah you too," he answered back. He headed out of the building and went to the parking lot. He must've been halfway home when he felt his phone is his pocket vibrating. He cautiously digged it out of his pocket, eyes glued to the road. He checked the caller ID… he couldn't believe it…

INCOMING CALL: FALLON SAWYER

Without hesitation Spencer pushed the send button connecting her call. Neither one of them said anything for a second, it was too surreal.

"Spencer," Fallon said softly.

"Fallon," Spencer said, he was still so surprised to hear her voice.

"Spencer I'm sorry… for everything." She explained.

"I know, I am too, I was really worried about you. When I got your dad's message I was relieved that you were okay." He explained. He felt a rush of all sorts of emotion drain through him.

"I miss you," she stated simply.

"I miss you too." He explained.

"Spencer do you still want to put up with me, even after everything we've been through?" Fallon asked in all seriousness.

"More than anything in the world Fallon," he explained. She smiled on the other end of the line, her heart was burning so intensely she betted that Spencer could feel it.

"When can I see you?" Fallon asked, to her it felt like that scene in West Side Story when Tony meets Maria at her balcony, just like it.

"Tonight," he explained, "my place."

"Okay," Fallon said with relief. Spencer gave him her address.

"I'll see you tonight then," Spencer explained before he hung up pulled into the community parking lot. Spencer was still shocked, Fallon was coming back, and she still cared about him. She felt sorry for everything. Spencer had though that she had moved on. Tried to start a completely new life, one that didn't include Spencer, he shook the thoughts from his head and headed up the stairs to his apartment. When he opened in he realized he had a lot of work to do.

"Oh lord," he whispered when he realized what a mess his place was. He had to go into a mega cleaning mode or this place would never be clean in time.

Spencer got out the mop, the duster, all the sprays, and soaps he needed. He got a trash back and picked up loose garbage laying on the kitchen table and counter. He fluffed the pillows and cushions on the couch. He folded the blankets and draped them over chairs. He pushed in the chairs to the tables. He wiped down the kitchen counter. He organized the papers; he straightened up the coffee table. He glanced at the clock. It was six-thirty and Fallon would be here in half-an-hour. He picked up his cell phone and dialed a Chinese Restaurant's number and ordered for the both of them. By the time the delivery guy arrived Spencer had ten minutes until Fallon would arrive. When the delivery left Spencer set the food on the kitchen table and waited by the door.

7:05 p.m.

That's when Fallon arrived at the door. She stopped and examined her outfit she had a tan top that went about four inches past her bottom (Arden B.), a sequined jacket (Forever 21), and black leggings (The Outnet). She wore white heels, about an inch high (Ami Clubwear). Of course she only had a little bit of make-up on. She sighed before she knocked on the door of his apartment. She stared at the door knob as she saw it turn slowly, they were both nervous. Fallon closed her eyes, when the door opened she could feel Spencer looking at her. When she opened her eyes, they stared at each other awestruck. Fallon sighed and surprised Reid with an embrace. Her arms wrapped around his neck. Her lips curved into a smile on his collarbone. He held her tighter and rested his chin on her head. He smelled fresh and was so warm, she never wanted to let go.

"I love you," she stated simply not looking into his eyes, she remained nuzzled into his neck.

"I love you too." He whispered.

…

"Hey Morgan," Garcia stated. After work Morgan and Garcia had decided to go to a coffee shop and dissect the day's events.

"Yeah baby girl?" He asked.

"I just got this feeling…"

"A feeling?"

"Yeah, about Reid,"

"What about Reid?"

"She's here Morgan, Fallon, his muse is here."

"And…"

"I can feel that they are together."

"Garcia,"

"Morgan, you guys are my babies, I can pretty much sense if one of my babies is madly in love."

"Yeah, they're definitely together."

"He's totally in love."

"Head over heels?"

"More like heaven over hell."

"Looks like our boy's all grown up Penelope."

"Don't they all grow so quickly?"

Chapter Eight

"I've missed you so much," Fallon explained as she grabbed hold of Spencer's hand, he voice was hoarse; tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Fallon," Spencer said quietly. She looked up at his gaze. Her eyes glistened with tears, and one tear streaked down the side of her face. Spencer wiped it off with the back of his hand. "You promise you won't leave me?"

"I promise." She explained; she hugged him tighter. She leaned her head against his neck. She could feel his soft pulse through the veins of his neck. She loved this feeling, knowing she was close. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and Spencer put his arm around her shoulder. He placed his other arm around her waist, keeping her in place. Spencer never wanted to let go, he wanted to cherish this moment forever. This was his utopia.

"Spencer," she said after a few minutes.

"Mhmm," He replied.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, that night." She explained. It took Spencer a minute to realize what she was talking about, but then it hit him…

"_Fallon," Spencer asked her. Morgan and Katelyn had left and Spencer stopped her when they had exited the restaurant. She looked at him. "Are you sure you're okay, I don't want to go home thinking I pressured you into this." _

"_Spencer I'm fine, why don't you believe me?" She asked him, she grabbed his hands._

"_Because you're not fine, you can't hide it Fallon. All your years of acting couldn't hide this." Spencer explained. Fallon gave Spencer a glare and immediately released her grip on his hands and stormed off._

"_I can't believe you Spencer." She yelled at him and headed to her car. Spencer stood there and sighed. He didn't know how to help her anymore._

_ "This could be the beginning of the end." He whispered to himself._

"I was just mad; I didn't want to admit the fact that I wasn't okay." She continued.

"Fallon you got the help you needed." Spencer explained.

"Yeah I know, I just can't get over the fact that if I would've listened to you… things wouldn't have turned out the way they did… you know. I regret all of it." She explained.

"I don't know about you Fallon, but if hadn't have met you. I don't know what I would do… all of this is a first for me." He explained. Fallon looked at him. "I've never had a girlfriend before." He explained,

"Are you serious?" She asked, with not even a hint of a playful tone.

"Do you remember how you said it my life must've been so great knowing everything?" He asked. Fallon tried to receive that memory…

"_What are you, a genius or something?" She asked._

"_You could say that, I have an IQ of 187, can read 20,000 words per minute and have PhDs in Mathematics, Engineering, and Chemistry. I have BAs in Psychology and Sociology, I'm completing a third in Philosophy; I also have an eidetic memory." He explained, hoping he didn't creep out his new aquatint._

_ "Oh my gosh, that's amazing! Life must be great to know everything." She stated._

"Yeah, I remember." Fallon explained.

"Well sometimes being the smartest kid in school meant being the loneliest kid in school, not to mention I was six years younger than everyone else in my graduating class." He explained.

"Spencer," She explained.

"Like you said before, it's better to know sooner than later." He explained. "I was bullied and made fun of all the time. It was torturous. Everyone knew I had a crush on the prettiest girl in school… everyone. One day I was in the library and Harper Hillman told me that Alexa Lisbin wanted to meet me behind the field house. When I got there Alexa was there with the entire football team. The stripped me naked and tied me to the goalpost. Everyone there laughed at me. I begged them to untie me, but they just watched. Finally everyone got bored and I was finally able to untie myself. When I got home it was midnight, my mom was having an episode so she didn't even notice that I was gone. Morgan is the only other person I've told this to. I just figured that if I don't think about it, it will go away…" He explained. Tears were forming in his eyes and he was struggling to hold them back. Fallon squeezed him tight.

"Spencer I'm sorry." She explained, she knew that this was something that someone would tell someone else to make them feel better. But for the first time in a long time she honestly meant it. She had no idea; she thought that Spencer must've had a great life. Not a living hell to look forward to. She remembered how quickly Spencer had changed the conversation that day they had met; Spencer's body language had gotten uncomfortable…

"_So what do you do for a living?" Spencer asked._

_ "How about I show you?" Fallon explained._

She had made him feel uncomfortable. Now she knew the story, now she knew how hard high school had been for him.

"Fallon you don't have to feel sorry for me. You didn't even know me. If you went to my high school, or even if you went to the middle school at the time you would've heard. You would've laughed." He explained. Fallon was about to protest but then she realized that he was probably right. "See there's this thing called schadenfreude, based on comparison theories that we humans find delight in others misfortunes. So when we see other people's bad luck it's natural for us to look better to ourselves." Spencer explained. "It's not your fault."

"Yeah but also men more than women enjoy watching people suffer Spencer," Fallon explained. Spencer pondered at that.

"Yeah I guess; the entire football team was there." He said.

"People hate it when their enemies become successful." Fallon noted and Spencer smiled.

Chapter Nine

THURSDAY

Reid sat at his desk captivated, last night was perfect. He didn't know why he worried about Fallon's return. In Reid's mind she had gotten so much better. He had a smile plastered on his face since he had arrived to work. Everyone noticed, even people that weren't in his unit, like Anderson. Morgan looked at him, laughed and smiled.

"Well good morning kid." He explained. He walked over to Reid's desk.

"Hey Morgan," Reid said.

"Well don't you look awfully happy?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah…" Reid said.

"So how is Fallon?" Morgan asked.

"I knew I couldn't hide it." Reid explained.

"With me around, it's never gonna get past me." Morgan explained, with a small laugh.

"She's doing really well Morgan. She said that she's been thinking a lot, and she also said that she was sorry that she put me through everything." Reid explained.

"So… Have you kissed her…? Since she's gotten back?" Morgan asked. Reid gave him a Morgan-do-I-have-to-answer-this look.

"No Morgan." He stated. Morgan had a full on shocked face.

"What, I thought you were a ladies man now Reid?" Morgan asked.

"What, why would you think that," Reid asked.

"Cause you have a girlfriend." Morgan explained.

"Well I don't know if we are going back out again." Reid stated quietly, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Reid," Morgan stated. "Don't lie to me, or I will have to get Garcia out here."

"Okay I'm pretty sure we are, we haven't said anything. But she told me… that she loved me." Reid explained.

"I knew you had it in ya." Morgan explained. Morgan then patted him on the shoulder and walked back to his desk.

…

Fallon lay in her bad that morning. She thought how wonderful last night had been. His apartment smelled like him, it reflected his personality completely. There were books everywhere. It was like his house was his library. She had bet that he had read all the books in his house at least twice. She sighed and rolled over onto her side. She winced when the sunshine streaked into eyes. She blinked and got up.

"I wish last night would've never ended." She whispered to herself. She remembered thinking that the day she had met Spencer and they had sat in Starbucks parking lot for hours…

_He lay there on the ground with her not saying anything for the next hour or two. It must've been 9:00 pm when the manager told them they needed to leave because they had received complaints from the customers. Spencer nodded sleepily, he must've dozed off, and he shook Fallon who had fallen asleep._

_She groaned and struggled to open her eyes. _

"_What is it Spencer?" She asked._

"_We have to leave, the manager told me so." He explained to her._

"_Those Jackasses don't know what nature or relaxation is." She said in a grumble as she collected her belongings; but first she signed the sketch of the street she had drawn and carefully tore it out of her sketch pad and handed it o Spencer._

_ "A reminder of today," she told him; she gave him a sheepish smile._

Then Fallon wondered in curiosity if Spencer still had that sketch. Fallon was pretty impressed with the outcome of that sketch. She remembered him watching her in amazement; she had felt happy that someone had like her work…

"_I could do this all my life, it just seems like the most natural thing on earth to me, there's no other feeling like it." Fallon explained. She relaxed and dropped to the soft, cold grass. She lay there for a minute or so when Spencer joined her. Her hair spilled from her head, locks tumbling everywhere it seemed. _

_ "This is what life is about, enjoying the small things that everyone takes for granted." Fallon explained. People gave the two of them looks as they proceeded to their cars, staring at them as if they were crazy._

Fallon realized hot much she had changed since that day, she was so free then, and she wanted to take chances. Now she was more uptight and she had thought that maybe reintroducing Spencer back into her life would be a mistake. She didn't want to cause him more pain. But when she saw him yesterday she realized that he would go through all the lengths with her, no matter what the cost was. She finally realized that all Spencer wanted to do was be with her, it flattered Fallon. No one had ever felt that way towards Fallon. Everyone had always believed Fallon, so they never gave her a fair chance. She felt a bolt of pain from the memory of her mother…

"_Mother this is Spencer Reid." Fallon explained, not breaking eye contact, trying to prove that she wasn't a weak link in the family. Her mother looked at him disgusted._

"_What the hell is this trash? Is he your accountant or something?" She said scanning him with a sick twisted look on her face. Spencer nudged Fallon. She harshly replied_

_ "He is not trash mother… Spencer is… my boyfriend."_

Fallon sighed… her mother would never learn. _That's why she's in jail._

Chapter Ten

_I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them._

_-Anonymous_

Fallon still pondered at the last time she saw her mother and sister. Sometimes she wished she had something nice to say, she didn't know when she was going to see them again… if ever…

"_Mother will you quiet down- oh… Fallon's here." She said disgusted. "Why are you here?" _

"_Breelynn I don't have the time for your crap, just leave us alone. We are trying to settle issues." Fallon explained._

"_Settle issues? All I see is my lazy daughter and her supposedly boyfriend trespassing in my house criticizing me." Her mother explained. "I'm Felicity Dawson for God's sake and I won't be treated this way in my own home. You know Fallon you should be thanking me, without me you would be a poor person living on the streets. I'm surprised you haven't blown it with this boy yet. He will realize the mistake he's made entering your life." She explained to Fallon, with no sympathy for that matter._

"_I can't believe you would do this to me." Fallon said. "Let's go Spencer." She took hold of his hand tightly, she dug her finger nails into his skin, and he winced. Together the two of them left in anger._

Those were the last words that se had said to her mother and to Breelynn. Fallon knew she had the right to be angry, but she didn't have to right to be cruel…

"_Where's Breelynn?" She asked concerned._

"_She's in the squad car, under arrest. I think they put Darren in a different squad car." Spencer explained.  
"I bet you're used to this kind of drama, always being on the hunt." Fallon explained. _

"_Yeah I am." Spencer stated. He was still trying to grasp all of what happened today._

"_Spencer," Fallon stated once again._

"_Yeah," Spencer asked in a quiet voice._

Fallon sighed, she knew she had to accept the fact that it was over and done.

…

Reid looked at his watch; it was only a couple minutes until lunch break. He knew that everyone had picked up on his body language since they had arrived, even Garcia had and she wasn't even a profiler. He knew everyone was going to ask him how she was and how things went. Spencer was usually uncomfortable talking about girls, but when he talked about Fallon, he felt strangely relaxed.

When it was one 'o clock Reid got up from his desk and headed to the break table. When he arrived JJ, Prentiss, and Morgan were already there; Reid sighed and walked over to the table.

"Hey there lover boy," Morgan said.

"Hey Reid," JJ and Prentiss added in. Reid said hello in return. When he sat down he felt everyone watching him. As if he was a robot in some new experiment.

"So do you want to know or not?" Reid finally asked breaking the silence. JJ and Prentiss exchanged glances.

"Spill it," Prentiss explained, she and JJ leaned in real close.

"Well I've already heard this story." Morgan explained, getting up from the table to go get coffee.

"So…" JJ finally said.

"Okay I saw Fallon last night… she told me she was sorry for everything." Reid explained.

"That's sweet." Prentiss said, "Continue."

"Well she told me that she loved me-"

"Ah Reid," they both explained. Morgan looked over his shoulder at the three of them. He laughed. Reid blushed.

"What did you tell her?" Prentiss asked.

"That I loved her too." He explained looking each of them dead in the eye.

"What a life Reid," Prentiss explained before she got up and headed back to her desk.

"Reid I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place." JJ explained and then she got up and headed to her office. Reid sat there like an awkward mess… _hot and steamy?_ Reid couldn't believe what JJ had told him. She already assumed that Fallon and he had done "stuff". Reid sighed and shook his head. Morgan headed back to the table.

"Well that was quick." Morgan said, noting that the girls had gone back to their stations.

"Yeah, they just wanted to hear the good part, I guess." Reid suggested.

"Well you know, women." Morgan explained.

"Not really," Reid explained. Despite being with Fallon, he really knew nothing about females. "You know what's weird Morgan?" Reid asked.

"What,"

"JJ thought that Fallon and I had already… done stuff. I didn't think I looked that love struck." Reid explained.

"Well have you?" Morgan asked.

"What, of course not, that's only for man and _wife_."

"You aren't a rule bender."

"That's not bending the rules Morgan."

"What would you call it?"

"Obeying God's expectations."

Chapter Eleven

Fallon looked up at the clock; it read 4:00 p.m., she had hardly been up for four hours. The day seemed long. She couldn't stop thinking about her mother and Breelynn, she wasn't sure why though. Fallon thought that maybe the karma was setting in, but she realized she hadn't really done anything as wrong to them as they had done to her, hell they almost drowned her! Fallon slowly started to remember that night at the hotel…

_ "So where is the snack room?" Fallon asked Darren. Darren laughed and snarled at her and grabbed hold of her arm with a death grip. Fallon suddenly realized what was going on… Breelynn was behind this. Fallon stopped dead in her tracks and started to jerk her whole body uncontrollably. She had to get out of his grip. Fallon started screaming at the top of her lungs. Darren punched her straight in the jaw and put a hand over her mouth._

_ "Shut up you bitch." He told her. Fallon winced in pain. She helplessly dragged down the hallway. The pain in her jaw grew and tears formed in her eyes. Darren took her back to the pool area, except this time it was empty. Fallon squinted when she tried to make out the words on a sign…_

_THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL POOL HOURS 6:00 A.M. T0 11:00 P.M._

_ Darren stopped for a moment and Fallon could feel herself being lifted over something… the pool fence, the gate was locked. She fell to the ground with a thud. She tried to get up but Darren came from behind and pulled her forward by her hair. Fallon tried to reach up and smack his hands, but she just had no energy. A minute or so later Darren dropped her on the ground again; he kept her in place by placing a foot firmly on her stomach. Fallon wheezed, she could hardly breathe with this pressure in her stomach. Darren kicked her hard in her rib cage and Fallon let out a cry. Darren took a pair of handcuffs from his pockets and he rolled Fallon on her stomach and handcuffed her arms behind her back. He then proceeded to get a rag or a cloth from another pocket and tied her legs together. At that point Fallon had given up hope, he was going to throw her in the pool, he was going to watch her sink to the bottom, he was going to watch her drown, watch her die. Fallon started to cry when she felt him rolling her closer to the edge of the pool. She tried to wiggle around and get out of his grip but she couldn't. When she rolled over the edge Fallon silently whispered to herself… "This is the end."_

When Fallon shook out of it, she realized that she was crying. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her palm. She knew she didn't need an eidetic memory like Spencer to remember this. Trying to cheer herself up she realized that would be the most exciting story she would tell her kids someday… if she had kids.

…

Spencer looked at the clock 4:30 p.m., he only had a couple hours left now. The days had seemed to get longer ever since Fallon came home. Spencer assumed this is what love does to people. Spencer knew that he and Fallon were in the honeymoon stage, when they were together it seemed like they were the only two people in the entire world. Spencer then remembered something his mother had told him… "If you love someone, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't they never were." Spencer smiled. His mother was right… "A mother knows." She would always tell him that, and this really made him believe her. Spencer had to let Fallon go for three, long, agonizing months, and Fallon returned because she loved him. That to Spencer was one of the most special things in the world. It was then that Spencer realized that they were meant to be together, this would end up being true love. Spencer could just feel it burning inside of him, waiting to come out. If Fallon hadn't have came back he would've never realized it.

Then JJ came by. "Hey Reid, Hotch wants to collect all the finished folders and get them turned in." She explained. Handing her his finished stack he told her…

"I don't have all the files done for some cases, does Hotch mind?" He asked.

"I don't think, I think he's trying to make desk space. He's got a fresh batch of new cases in his office… Are these all you finished?" JJ asked. "You usually finish more than this by now." She explained examining the stack of files.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I need to get my head on straight." He explained taking a folder off the top of his unfinished stack.

"Well get to it." JJ explained. Reid nodded and opened the file

Stan Grover

Age: 41

Weight: 201 lbs.

Height: 6 ft. 3 in.

White male, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes is wanted for the murder of his wife.

Becky Grover (victim)

Age: 39

Weight: 110 lbs.

Height: 5 ft. 5 in.

Spencer stopped, he examined a picture of Stan Grover, and he looked at it for a few minutes. He froze when he realized how familiar he looked. He looked at the case files it said that Becky was murdered last night, the night when Spencer had seen Fallon. Spencer remembered where he had seen Stan… he was the man that delivered his food to him that night. A killer had delivered his food to him. Spencer felt shaky and nauseous. He had let a killer escape. The man had seemed so friendly when he delivered his food, and Spencer couldn't help but think he could've stopped it.

Chapter Twelve

"Reid, are you okay?" Morgan asked. Reid rubbed his face and nodded.

"Yeah I'm fine." He explained.

"If you say so…" Morgan said before returning back to work. Spencer sat in agony; this was going to eat him alive. After a few minutes of doing nothing Reid finally got up and walked out of the bullpen.

JJ heard a knock on her office door.

"Come in," she stated. When the door slowly opened, she was surprised to see a very worried Reid standing in the doorway.

"Reid what's wrong?" She asked getting up from her chair.

"There's this file…" He explained quietly, handing the manila folder over.

"What about it?" JJ asked; pondering the contents inside the folder.

"The man," Reid said simply, as if she was supposed to understand what he was trying to say.

"The man… what Reid," JJ asked.

"I saw him, that night." Reid explained; leaning over the files and pointing to the date printed on the page.

"You saw this man on the night of the murder?" JJ asked. Reid nodded and let out a huge breath. Reid also pointed to the time of death… it read 10:45:07 p.m.

"I saw this man before he murdered his wife JJ." Reid explained; his face was turning red.

"Reid what this man did isn't your fault, you know that." JJ explained; giving his hand a squeeze.

"JJ," Reid said, avoiding eye contact. She looked up at him. "Can we take the case?"

"Reid… I- I don't know if we can, you know we have to be invited on a case." She explained.

"Have you checked… you said these files came from Hotch?" Reid asked. JJ nodded. She headed over to her desk and looked over the files. Okay, I have two requests. Let's see if this is one of them…" JJ explained looking through one of the files. "Well it's your lucky day Dr. Reid." She explained patting him on the back. Reid smiled. "I'll call the field office and say we're coming."

Reid nodded and headed back to his desk.

"Where have you been?" Prentiss asked.

"We have a case." He explained.

"What, how do you know?" Prentiss asked.

"I was in JJ's office." Reid explained.

"Why?" Prentiss asked.

"To get us on this case," Reid explained.

"Are you seriously saying you persuaded JJ to take a case, with no previous knowledge of the crime committed?" Prentiss asked impressed. Reid nodded.

"This one's different."

…

Fallon plopped down on the couch and turned on the television set. The news was on…

"BREAKING NEWS: SUSPECTED MURDERER STAN GROVER IS ON THE LOOSE AND IS SUSPECTED TO BE ARMED AND DANGEROUS. STAN IS A 41 YEAR OLD MALE, WEIGHS 201 LBS., IS 6 FT 3IN TALL, STAN HAS DARK BROWN HAIR AND DARK BROWN EYES. IF YOU THINK YOU'VE SEEN THIS MAN CALL OUR TIP LINE IMMEDIATELY. Fallon froze; she'd seen this man…

_Fallon rushed up the stairs to Spencer's apartment, she was almost going to be late, it was going to be the first time she'd seen Spencer in three months and she was about to be late. Fallon turned the corner and that's when she ran into an older man. _

_ "Oh excuse me sir, I'm so sorry." She told him. He gave her a huge smile. It sent a chill down Fallon's body._

_ "It's alright little darling." He said. Fallon's palms started to sweat._

_ "I'm sorry but I really need to get going, again I'm sorry." She explained, before she pushed past him; not looking back. _

_ "That's okay miss; I have to get going too." He explained as she practically ran up the stairs to Spencer's apartment. She stopped when she reached the top of the stairs; she peered over the edge and saw the man at the bottom of the stairs, he was talking on his cell phone now and he sounded angry. Fallon backed away from the stairs and started down the hallway and looked for Spencer's room number._

Fallon had the urge to pick up the phone to call, but she just couldn't gather enough courage to do it. She wondered if Spencer had seen the man too. Fallon sat on the couch while his description ran across the bottom of the television screen. Fallon sat in wonder…

_ Who did this man kill?_

_ Why would he be a suspect?_

_ When did this man become a suspect?_

_ When did the victim die?_

_ Does this man remember my face?_

_ Does he remember where I was when he saw me?_

Fallon groaned, this was going to eat her alive… she had to call Spencer.

…

Spencer felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he sighed and answered…

"Spencer I saw this man…"

"Stan Grover, I know I saw him too."

Chapter Thirteen

The team gathered in the conference room.

"This is Stan Grover…" JJ explained, as his picture popped up on the projector. "He is wanted for the murder of his wife Becky Grover." JJ pulled up photos of the crime scene.

Reid got an unsettling feeling in his stomach; he tried his best not to show it. The pictures were gruesome.

"If they know who the guy is why are they asking for our assistance?" Hotch asked.

"Well as many of you have seen the news, the police can't locate him and they are asking for our assistance." JJ explained.

"Do they think he could go on a killing spree?" Prentiss asked.

"He might be on a psychotic break from reality." Morgan offered.

"Maybe he wanted to get a divorce from his wife…" Reid offered quietly.

"Well that would be an easy way to get rid of her." Rossi said.

"Elaborate." Hotch said. Reid thought about what Fallon had told him, she said that he was calling her all these pet names and trying to make a conversation with her.

"Maybe he met someone else, and thought he had fallen in love." Reid explained.

"Love at first sight?" Prentiss asked.

"Maybe someone of a higher social status," Morgan explained.

"I guess the unsub is looking for that woman then…" JJ explained.

"Wheels up in ten minutes," Hotch explained as he got up from the table. Most of the team followed. Reid was still in there sitting in his chair. JJ was about to leave when she stopped and turned to face him.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked.

"I know who he's after." He explained, the color had completely drained from his face.

"Who," she asked.

"Fallon, my girlfriend," he explained. "She saw him and he was calling her all these pet names and trying to start a conversation with her, she said his body language said it all." He explained.

"Are you sure?" JJ asked.

"I'm positive; I can't let her get in danger again…" He explained.

"Do you know where he's going?" JJ asked.

"Probably my apartment," Reid explained. "That's where he saw her."

"Do you know where she is?" JJ asked.

"No, I'll call her though…" He explained, getting his cell phone out of his pocket. Spencer couldn't believe it. Fallon could be in danger again. It's like she was prone to it. Well Spencer is too, considering all the things that have happened to him since his time at the FBI. Spencer hit the speed dial button on his phone and waited for an answer… it never came.

…

Fallon headed to Spencer's apartment, she figured that he was on his way back from work. She hoped that he hadn't gotten a case. She was scared; she had gone through so much danger since being with Spencer. She headed up the stairs. She figured she should call him to see if he was here. She stopped when she reached the stairs and dug around in her pocket to discover her phone wasn't in there. She checked all of her other pockets. She got the same result – nothing.

"Are you looking for this…" a man asked.

"Shit," Fallon said, he face was burning red, it was him. Without answering him she bolted up the stairs running as fast as she could. She ran down to the end of the hallway where she saw a window. She struggled with the latch when she tried to open it, no luck. She tried again, but her hands were sweating like crazy, she couldn't get a grip on the latch. Fallon started to bang on doors and scream.

"HELP ME SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!" She screamed. She turned around and saw that she was face to face with him, with Stan Grover, the man who killed his own wife, and Fallon was positive that he was going to kill her too.

Fallon tried to be brave; she looked him dead in the eye. Not saying a word. She backed up into the window. She put one of her hands behind her back and struggled with it again.

"Don't tell me you're leaving…" He said. His hand whipped around and grabbed her arm; he pulled her forward and dragged her down the hallway. This time Fallon wasn't handcuffed. She played along and didn't struggle. He released his grip and that's when Fallon got out of his grip and ran like lightning. Stan Grover chased after her. Fallon tried to get past him but he punched her in the shoulder.

Fallon kept going despite the pain racing down her arm. When she got to the stairs she watched her footing, making sure not to trip. When she reached the bottom of the staircase Fallon ran out the door full speed. To her convenience, she saw FBI agents rushing to get in the building. She stopped when she them. One of them started running to her, but then the agent stopped and pulled her gun out of her holster. Fallon stopped dead in her tracks, he was right behind her. He wrapped her tight in his grip. One hand held her place and the other held a gun to her head.

"Stan Grover do not shoot this is the FBI." One agent said.

Fallon's eyes darted around. Then she saw Spencer…

"Spencer!" She called out. He looked over and ran past the other agents. Fallon wanted to call out to him, to come save her. _WHERE IS HE GOING?_ She thought in agony.

"I will KILL her." Stan explained. He adjusted his grip on the gun and on Fallon. Fallon winced. The man nails dug into her clothing, piercing her skin, his grip on her was so tight. And it was then… That the gun went off.

Chapter Fourteen

Spencer froze; he can't believe what he had seen. Every muscle in his body tingled; he felt ice cold and burning hot. He just couldn't believe it. He never thought he'd have to be placed in that kind of situation again. But he pulled through. He'd be alright, Fallon would be too. That was all that mattered now. He walked over to Fallon; who was just staring at Stan Grover's dead body. He slowed down when he got near her.

"Fallon," he said quietly.

"You saved me." She said.

"I'm sorry that I had to do what I did." He explained.

"Me too, me too," she explained, her eyes were still glued to him. Spencer put his arm around Fallon's shoulders as EMS workers bagged up Grover. Fallon tried to fight back the tears.

"Are you alright?" Spencer asked as he led Fallon to another EMS truck to get checked out.

"I will be."

"I'm sorry you have to go through all this… again."

"Spencer,"

"I mean that's twice now."

"Spencer,"

"It's not fair to you."  
"SPENCER,"

"Hmm?"

"I love you, you saved me."…

_She just kept kissing me but I pulled away._

_ "There's this thing called transference."_

_ "You don't like me."_

_ "What, of-of course I do, it's just that I'm-I'm a federal agent. I'm supposed to protect you."_

_ "Then keep me close."_

…

Spencer sat in his apartment that night. Fallon had insisted that she was fine. She had told him that she just wanted some alone time, to herself. Spencer trusted her. But still, he worried what would happen during this alone time, he hoped he wouldn't shut him out again. He hated that. He felt so closed off to one of the most important things in the world to him. He sat on his couch, feeling so bored and alone. He hoped that Fallon would call him soon… very soon. Until then, he waited.

…

Fallon sat on her bed. She had been crying. She didn't know what to do. Ever since she had been with Spencer, she had almost gotten killed twice. When does that ever happen to someone's girlfriend? Fallon was getting sick of it. She really loved Spencer, but she really didn't love his job. The hours were crazy, she knew that cases could last days, even weeks. She was very aware of the fact that Spencer could never come back. He could get killed saving others. Even as heroic as that was, she didn't want someone to tell her that her boyfriend had been killed in crossfire. Enough was enough; she had to do something about it.

…

"Hey Katelyn," Penelope said into the phone later that day.

"Oh hey Pen!" Katelyn said. "How was your day?"

"Not good sweet cheeks, Reid's Hun wandered into danger again and almost got killed… again."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious, I swear she was this close to dying." Garcia said shaking her head. She walked across her bed, which had her laptop on it. She had been looking up hacker codes and e-mailing Kevin.

"That's awful, is she going to be okay?"

"God I hope so, Reid was so depressed when… well… you know."

"I bet so."

"She could use some cheering up."

"Oh come on Pen, do you really think she wants a complete total stranger trying to cheer her up?"

"No one's ever said no to me yet, sweets."

"That could be interesting to see."

"I wonder how Reid is handling it…"

"I dunno; I don't really know that much about him. Derek talks about him sometimes."

"That's because they are like brothers."

"Really? He will never admit that to me."

"Trust me, pretty much since the day they have met they have been that way."

"That close?"

"Trust me sugar."

"Since when don't I trust you?"

Chapter Fifteen

FRIDAY

Spencer came to work that day without any word from Fallon. He had gotten little to no sleep. He was desperate to hear her voice again. He was sure his outfit didn't match at all and that Morgan would make a pun about it when he saw him. When he arrived at his desk he took off his messenger bad and sat it next to his chair. He sat down and sighed.

"Reid, what's wrong?" Morgan asked… no pun intended.

"Hmmm," Reid looked up from his desk.

"You just look, well you know, out of it today." Morgan explained walking closer to him.

"I'm fine Morgan." Reid explained; grabbing a file to work on off his desk.

"Well when you want to tell me… you know where to find me." Morgan explained before he patted Reid on the shoulder and walked away.

…

"Hey do you know what's wrong with Reid?" Prentiss asked Morgan a few hours later that day.

"He won't tell me." Morgan explained.

"He won't admit anything, will he?" Prentiss asked. That's the way Reid had always had been, ever since Prentiss had met him and when he had picked up his drug habit. He said nothing was wrong.

"He thinks that he can trick us." Morgan explained.

"When will he learn he's not helping himself when he's keeping his problem all bottled inside of him?" She asked crossing her arms across her chest. They watched Reid from the break table. They could easily tell how stressed out he was, and they didn't like it.

"He won't change; he's always been like this, even before you joined the BAU." Morgan explained.

"It's just a shame he can't trust us with any of his problems." Prentiss explained. Then it seemed that Morgan sparked something.

"He may not trust us… but if there's anyone Reid will trust it's…" He was cut off.

"Gideon," Prentiss finished for him.

"Does anybody even know where to find him these days?" Morgan asked.

"Who knows," Prentiss stated.

"We could ask Hotch." Morgan suggested.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Prentiss asked.

"It's worth a try… for Reid's sake at least." Morgan explained.

…

Fallon sat up in bed that morning. She had nightmares last night. Bad ones; the first one was with Stan Grover in it. She couldn't see his face at first. He had a hooded sweatshirt on and he dragged her to what seemed like Hell. When he let her go, she pulled down his hood she saw not the face on Stan Grover… but the face of Spencer. The second was with Stan Grover again, he had abducted her and took her to his house, and when she arrived at his house he allowed her to make a monitored phone call, she called Spencer and heard his phone ringing. She had thought it was just her imagination. But he came out of a dark hallway and said…

"Are you looking for me?"

That's when Fallon had woken up; it had scared the living daylights out of her. She had avoided calling Spencer on purpose; she was trying to make a statement; trying to tell him that she wanted some alone time, some down time.

Though she had no idea how long this down time would last.

Hours?

Days?

Weeks?

Months?

Fallon just assumed the longer, the better. Well for her at least.

…

Hotch was interrupted from work when he heard a knock on his door. He snapped into reality before he said, "come in."

When the door slowly opened he saw the silhouettes of Morgan and Prentiss. When they stepped into his office he could tell they wanted to ask him something.

"Yes," he replied.

"Hotch; do you perhaps know where Gideon is?" Prentiss asked. Hotch gave her a look like she had no idea that he had left all those years ago.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"It's Reid and he… we were wondering if you knew where he was, Gideon these days…" Morgan explained quietly.

"Yes, I still keep in touch with him." Hotch explained.

"Can you give us like a phone number or anything?" Prentiss asked.

"I can give you his cell phone number. Is Reid okay?" He asked writing a number down.

"Honestly we have no idea…" Morgan explained.

Chapter Sixteen

Jason Gideon was at his cabin, again. He loved that place almost more than anything. He had danced with a woman he loved there, received a head in a box, and said goodbye to Spencer Reid through this cabin. He still regrets his choice to not tell Spencer goodbye face to face, Gideon figured he just wasn't strong enough anymore. His train of thought ran back on track when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He checked it, unknown number.

"Hello," Gideon said.

"Gideon," Morgan said. He had the phone on speaker to where Prentiss could hear him also.

"Derek?" Gideon asked…it must've been years since he'd heard from him, or anyone from the BAU.

"Gideon we need a favor, it's Reid." Morgan explained.

"What is it?" Gideon asked, pacing around the cabin floor.

"Something's wrong with him and he won't talk to us. We thought that maybe he's talk to you…" Morgan explained.

"Why would Spencer want to talk to me? I left him with no explanation except for the letter I wrote him." Gideon explained.

"You were like his dad Gideon." Morgan assured.

"I can try. Does Reid still have the same cell phone number?" Gideon asked.

"Yes," Morgan assured.

"I'll try to talk to him." Gideon explained.

"Thank you." Morgan said.

"It's good to hear from you again Morgan." Gideon said before he hung up.

"That man is still a mystery man to me." Prentiss said.

"He sounds the exact same, except more calm." Morgan said.

"I bet he's better now." Prentiss said.

"Since he's left the BAU," Morgan finished for her. The both stood there in silence, amazed that they had heard Gideon's voice after all of these years without a single word from him. Any now he was willing to help Reid.

…

Spencer sat at his desk, still upset from the day before. He understood that Fallon would want time to recuperate. Spencer just didn't know how to handle it in a relationship. He's figure he would never be in one. For him it was a fish out of water experience. He thought that he should go to Morgan for advice, but he wanted to solve this problem without his help. He wanted to prove that he wasn't the same little brother that went to his big brother for help. Then he'd realized that Morgan and Prentiss hadn't been at their desks for a good half and hour, which is odd. He craned his neck to look around the bullpen, no where to be seen. Reid shrugged _they'll be back._

…

"I just want to be friends." Fallon said in front of the mirror. "Wow, that's corny."

"Spencer I think we need to take a break."

"Can we put things on hold?"

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with your life of danger…"

"Spencer I'm breaking up with you."

"No, I can't be that mean to him…"

Fallon was thinking of things to tell Spencer whenever she decided to talk to him next.

She had no idea what to say, she'd never done this before. She wasn't experienced in the whole dating scene. Neither was Spencer, so it was new to them both. Fallon had realized it had only been two days since Fallon got back from the hospital and she had gotten back with Spencer, almost gotten killed… again. And now she was planning to breakup with him. Her life was a rollercoaster these days.

She was sure that Spencer wanted to help, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to let his help come in. She groaned in frustration. _WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT? IT'S NEVER THAT WAY IN THE MOVIES._ Pretty much every corny movie she'd ever seen had to do with a relationship, one of them cheated and the couple would breakup, roll the credits. No movie had ever covered the situation that she was going through.

Fallon thought back to that day at the park three months ago. What if she had been running late that day? What if she had decided not to sit on the park bench, but to walk the trails? Would she have seen someone else? Would she have seen Spencer at all? What would her life be like without Spencer now? She knew for a fact that without Spencer she would've never confronted her mother and her sister wouldn't be in jail. She wouldn't have tried to kill herself. She wouldn't have gone through depression and most certainly, she wouldn't be asking these questions.

Fallon knew that life was always filled with these what ifs, and what would happen moments. She knew that she could never avoid asking herself these questions.

"Spencer when I first met you, I thought you were the one. Now I'm not so sure. I thought that being the one met that you were the man of my dreams. You are really nice and caring, but your job can cause a lot of problems and I don't like being caught in the middle of it all. I just can't take it anymore, it's over." Fallon said to herself. She sighed, she had to do it, and she just had to tell him, she knew she might regret her choice, she knew it might be a choice that would save her life.

_ "I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life."_

_ -Anonymous_

Chapter Seventeen

Jason Gideon stood in silence. It really had been years since he'd heard from anyone from his old BAU team. It really sounded nice to hear their voices again. To remind him that not all the times there were bad. He knew that he could still dissect Reid's mind. He told him in New Orleans that he wasn't that hard to profile. He had to see Reid face to face to figure out his problem. But he was surprised that neither Morgan nor Prentiss had been able to figure him out. Gideon decided sooner was better than later so he picked up his car keys and headed outside to his truck.

The air had a chill in it and Gideon shivered, he thought that this was odd weather despite the fact that it was early July. Gravel crackled under his boots and leaves crunched and swirled in the wind. The sky was a pale blue, no clouds in site. It was a relatively nice day outside. When he got to his truck he got into the drivers side and plopped down into the seat.

"Here we go…" Gideon whispered to himself. The entire ride to Quantico all Gideon could think about was Reid. He wondered if he had matured more since his departure. He wondered if looked different and if he had gotten even taller. You can't forget that Reid is a pretty tall guy. When he saw the venders on the side of the road selling FBI t-shirts and caps Gideon smiled at the sight. His heart started to race when he could see the Field Office up ahead, he could see the flags standing tall and proud.

"There's no turning back Jason." He told himself. Despite the sick feeling he was feeling in his stomach he kept moving forward. He pulled into a public parking lot. When he parked he got out of his car and rubbed his chin. He closed his door and locked his car. When he saw a valet he winced thinking of an old case where a man dressed as figures of authority. That was how he gained his victims, vulnerable women. The unsub ended up getting shot and his soon to be victim made it.

Gideon quickly rushed out of the parking garage and headed towards the Field Office. He wondered if the guards would recognize him that is if the same guards worked there.

When he approached the front door he sighed and stopped. One guard looked him in the face.

"Sir- Wait… Jason Gideon, is that you?" He asked. Gideon nodded and moved forward to shake his hand. Same guards. "What are you doing back to the FBI?" The man asked.

"Help…" He explained, letting the world trail off.

"Alright, just make sure you get a visitors badge at the front desk." He explained. Gideon nodded and entered. The place looked the exact same. Old memories rushed back unexpected. The building still drowned in the smell of coffee. Gideon let aroma linger in his nostrils. He smiled thinking of all the times that the team had had together. Sometimes Gideon missed that part of the job. But most of all Gideon missed adding photos to his collection of all the lived he had saved, each and every one of them where trophies to Gideon, they had sentimental value to him and he knew that they always would. He still had every photo, except Rebecca Bryant's. He saved her once, but Frank the notorious serial killer murdered her when he got hold of Gideon's list, his list of all the people that he had saved.

Gideon moved up to the front desk. On the wall behind the desk was the FBI's symbol and underneath read… Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity, it was the motto that they had and it corresponded with the letters F-B-I. Above the symbol said… FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, Gideon moved forward eyes still plastered on those words. When he met the eyes of the woman at the front desk a smile spread across Gideon's face.

"Hello Clarice," Gideon explained, reaching over to shake her hand.

"Jason Gideon, it's sure been a while since I've seen your face here." She explained. "Why are you here?"

"My old colleagues asked me to come." He explained.

"Which ones, almost every face at the BAU is the same." She explained.

"Agents Prentiss and Morgan," He explained, while he signed in a visitor's badge.

"Ah yes, well I hope everything is okay." She explained. "Oh and welcome back Jason," she explained. Gideon nodded before he headed over to an elevator. He pushed a button for the floor in which the BAU was on. He waited a few minutes. He then heard the door open and saw several agents come out. A few recognized him and shook his hand. Gideon felt like he was attending a welcome back party. When he stepped in he pushed a button and up the elevator he went.

The silent humming of the elevator relaxed him; many times the team came back to the BAU silent on that same elevator trying to dissect their thoughts about the previous case and what the next one would hold in store for them. But when they stepped out of that elevator Garcia was usually waiting for them, which usually lit up their thoughts. That made Gideon think…_ How will Garcia react to seeing me? _

When the elevator stopped he gulped, he was mere steps away from the hallway that led to the BAU. That led to the bullpen. That led to the conference room with their round table. That led to Hotch's, JJ's, and Garcia's office. That led to the break room with the endless supply of coffee that they all loved so much, especially Reid.

When the door slowly opened, or at least that's what Gideon seemed to think, Gideon had often thought about elevators different since their case in 2005 when a serial arsonist set fires on a college campus. She had stopped an elevator with three people in. The unsub set fires when there was a trilogy of three's. She was going to set them on fire. She lit a stick on fire that she was going to drop down there when Hotch shot her and Gideon stomped on the stick, putting out the fire. Gideon could still hear the ear-shattering screams of the young college students in that elevator. He could still hear the screams of many other people they had saved, and others that he hadn't. Their faces were forever plastered in his memory. Gideon knew that they were stuck there and that there was nothing he could do about it. Gideon walked into the BAU, he glanced around.

"Gideon?" It was Reid, Gideon smiled and replied…

"Hello Spencer."

Chapter Eighteen

All Reid could do was just look ahead, he was silent. He was hardly able to let his name linger out between his lips. _Gideon_, he repeated in his head, he couldn't remember the last time he had thought about the man that had taught him so much about his job – and so much about life in general. And now that same man reappeared in his life again. Reid had shut Gideon out of life after he left, just like he did to his dad. But this time he wasn't mad when he saw his old mentor, he had been furious when he saw his dad for the first time in seventeen years. Reid couldn't explain this evanescent moment in time.

Reid opened his mouth but he struggled to find words to say or to find any sound to make the words to come out. Finally he mustered up some courage and asked Gideon, "What are you doing here?"

"Spencer, Morgan and Prentiss are worried about you…" Gideon explained; keeping his eyes locked on Spencer. He examined Spencer thoroughly. He had gotten taller. His hair was freshly cut. He could tell this because he still had big wild curls on his head. He looked like he had joined a boy band. He looked older for sure. Gideon knew that this job could put a lot of stress on people, and he was finally starting to see this affect on Spencer. Though he did realize that Spencer dressed more like his age and not like a middle school, student like he used to, he didn't have a sweater vest on. That was something that Gideon knew was going to fade away. Instead a normal vest with a pocket watch took the sweaters place. Reid's dress shirt sleeves were rolled to the elbow. The same as he did those few years ago. He had black – fitting slacks on. Gideon half-smiled at all the times Spencer would come in to work with baggy khaki pants and a too-big sweater vest. But not anymore Gideon had figured. Then Spencer's words came and interrupted his train of thought.

"I knew they would do this to me…" Reid explained, breaking eye contact with Gideon, the tone in his voice had changed to frustrated.

"They said you won't even talk to them." Gideon explained.

"It's not their business." Reid explained heading back over to his desk.

"Spencer, they care about you… they don't want you to go through that phase again." Gideon explained; following Reid. Reid stopped dead in his tracks. A pang of pain raced through his body. He knew exactly what Gideon was talking about. Anybody would've known what he was referencing, it was no secret.

"_Nothing _could ever be as hard as that, they have no idea." Reid said with a harsh tone. Reid hadn't even thought of how much he sounded like his mother when he got angry.

"Spencer you need to listen to me…"

"Gideon you left for all these years… come back and expect me to tell you about my problems. Hell I haven't seen you in years, you abandoned me, and all you left was that letter." Reid was yelling now and agents at their desks started to turn around and stare at the two in confusion.

"You know there are no happy endings to this job." Gideon explained in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, I know." Reid said in an irritated voice.

"Spencer what has gotten into you?" Gideon asked slowly moving forward.

"It's _none _of your business." Reid shot back.

"Spencer," Gideon said. Reid ignored him and sat back down at his desk and picked up an unfinished file.

"Spencer," he repeated. No response. Reid was opening the file and examining the contents now.

"Spencer," Gideon said raising his voice this time. Reid shifted in his chair so that he wasn't facing Gideon.

"SPENCER LISTEN TO ME!" Gideon yelled, he lurched forward and spun Reid's chair around forcing him to face forward.

"You're treating your friends like _absolute trash _and you don't even care. You know they wouldn't ask if they didn't care about you. When Morgan and Prentiss called me they had the most worried tone in their voice, I had never heard them like that. This team is your family; they treat you better than your own family did. I think that you should show them a little _respect_." Gideon spat out. With that he walked out of the bullpen angry and furious. He couldn't believe that Reid had changed this much, it seemed like he had changed for the absolute worse and he hated it.

When Gideon was out of sight, Reid collapsed his head on his desk with a thud and began to silently cry. He had messed up – big time. It was the first time that he had seen Gideon in years and he yelled at him. His tears soaked into his papers, but Reid didn't care. He sniffled and got up. He had to find Gideon, he needed to apologize. He wasn't going to let this moment be his fisher king wound, he just wouldn't. He ran out of the bullpen and down the hall. He took the stairs instead of the elevator. His face was red and hot with tears. When he got to the front desk he found Clarice sitting there looking up at him.

"Did Gideon leave?" He asked.

"He just walked out; you might be able to catch him in the parking lot." She explained. Reid sprinted full speed out of the building and that's when he saw Gideon. He chased after him.

"Gideon," Reid exclaimed. Gideon turned around facing him. "I'm so sorry for what I said."

"I knew you wouldn't let me leave without apologizing." Gideon explained. Reid came forward and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry." He said when he let go.

"Reid find her." Gideon explained.

"How do you know?" Reid asked in confusion.

"Like I said, you're not that hard to profile." Gideon said with a smile.

Chapter Nineteen

Spencer went back inside the BAU and sat quietly at his desk. Morgan and Prentiss came out into the bullpen.

"Are you okay?" Prentiss asked. Reid nodded and looked up at her with sorry and begging eyes.

"I owe you guys an apology." Reid said.

"Reid," Morgan began.

"No really, it's not fair that I treat you guys so badly, I need to be a better, a better brother." Reid said as he got up out of his chair to face them. Prentiss smiled at him and pulled him into a friendly hug.

"Siblings have fights every once and awhile." She explained.

"Yeah Reid," Morgan explained, while he patted him on the back.

"So how's Gideon?" Prentiss asked.

"He looks the exact same, just a little older." Reid explained.

"You know he really cares about you." Morgan explained. Reid nodded.

"And you guys care about me, he told me that I need to treat you guys better, he said you were my family. He said that you were the most important thing to me… and you guys are." Reid explained.

"Well we get off work in few; do you want to grab a bite to eat?" Prentiss asked them both. Reid paused and thought.

"I need to talk to Fallon." Reid explained.

"That's totally understandable kid." Morgan explained. "She's the reason we called Gideon."

"So that's how he knew…" Reid whispered.

"What?" Prentiss asked.

"Oh nothing, well I guess I'm gonna head out." Reid explained.

…

Fallon sat on the couch, she had relaxed some. She knew what she was going to Spencer. She also figured that he was freaking out and that she had to tell him something, she knew it was only fair to him. She just was waiting for the right moment. She figured that he had probably just gotten off work, and considering his job she should wait awhile. She sighed and turned on the TV, it was on MTV and Silent Library was on, she laughed at how funny, but yet how ridiculous shows these days had gotten. They shouldn't be making new shows; they should keep the old shows, _with the same characters_. She was about to change the channel when she heard a knock at the door. She sighed and got up off her comfy seat on the couch and started heading down the hallway. Her feet made pitter-patter sounds on the floor when she walked. When she got to the door she looked through the peep hole. It was Spencer. Without hesitating she opened the door, she needed to get this over with.

"Fallon," Spencer said when she opened the door.

"Spencer," Fallon said when she let him in. "I have to-"

"Tell you something." Spencer finished for her.

"I think-"Fallon started.

"It should be over." Spencer replied; breaking eye contact.

"So we feel the same way…" Fallon said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess so." Spencer explained.

"Spencer you deserve someone better than me." Fallon explained.

"But I don't." He said.

"You do, you deserve someone who doesn't run away from their fears. You deserve someone who faces them head on." Fallon explained.

"You faced your fear of your mother." Spencer explained.

"I almost got you killed…" Spencer said, "Twice."

"It's not your fault." Fallon explained.

"I feel like it should be… now if someone deserves someone better it's definitely you." Spencer explained.

"Spencer, you're an amazing person and a wonderful guy. You're the greatest person I've met in my entire life." Fallon explained.

"My job is too dangerous…" Spencer explained.

"I think that's what put us in a whirlwind." Fallon explained with a smile. "Come on Spencer." She rubbed his hand. Even though he didn't lift his head, she could still see a smile forming on his lips.

"It's honestly not your fault. I want you to realize that." She explained.

"My mentor told me that when I had to do something courageous that I needed to remember three things…" He started.

"What were they?" She asked.

"You did what you had to do. A lot of good people are alive because of what you did…" Spencer paused for a long moment causing Fallon to ask…

"What's the third?"

"I'm proud of you." Spencer explained. He looked at Fallon and their eyes met. Her sympathy and his empathy met. "Is this what we want?"

"I think it's really what we need right now." Fallon explained.

"I think you're right…" Spencer explained.

"Spencer," Fallon began.

"Hmmm," he sounded.

"You'll always hold a special place in my heart."

Chapter Twenty

Spencer said his goodbyes a few minutes after he'd arrived at Fallon's house. It was over. Spencer wasn't sad, he was happy. They both agreed that this needed to happen. Spencer realized that both of their lives would honestly be a lot easier and a lot stressful now. Fallon had told him that she wanted to be friends. She also told him that she wasn't just saying that, she meant it. She told him that she really would call him and ask how things are going. Spencer said it would be nice if she did that. It also made Spencer think back to when the team was in Hollywood and Lila said if it's okay that I call you… Spencer said it was okay. She never called. Spencer didn't care. She never mattered. Fallon mattered. That's all that he cared about. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Spencer walked down Fallon's walkway, heading away from her house and towards his beat up old Volvo. When he climbed into the driver's side he sat down and took one long look at Fallon's house. He smiled, they had some good times in that house and good times in other places… Like the lake…

"_Seriously, what all could you do in a lake," Fallon asked._

_ "You would be pretty surprised." Spencer replied. He tried not to think about a previous case._

"_So are you coming or not?" She asked._

"_I uh, I don't know. I mean I like to keep dry." He explained, trying to convince her._

"_Well sorry, you're options just ran out!" She exclaimed as she swam frantically towards him. She took hold of his wrist and pulled forward. Her feet were planted on the dock beams for support. He finally toppled over after an intense battle._

"_Fallon, what the hell!" He exclaimed._

"_Can't you experience nature with me Spencer Reid?" She asked trying to pull off a pout._

"_Hmm, I guess so." He said, with humor and sarcasm._

"_Good, I was going to pull you in anyway." She laughed._

"_Maybe I shouldn't have chosen a lake." He second-guessed. They swam around, their clothes weighing them down._

_Several hours later Fallon and Spencer were leaning against the dock, their hair was tangled and plastered to their bodies and faces._

Of course Spencer could never forget what happened after that…

"_Spencer… Spencer," she tried to stop him from continuing. He looked up at her. "Just shut up and kiss me." She explained. At the same moment the sun set. She slip her hands up to his face, she pressed her lips against his. His lips were moist and soft, she liked the taste of him. Spencer pushed plastered pieces of hair behind his ears and put his hand under her chin and almost hesitated to move her closer to him. He hoped she wouldn't pull away, not just yet. They each questioned what to do next; they took turns in the lead. Finally Fallon pulled away._

Spencer smiled once more before he pulled onto the road and headed back home. Even though

he hadn't been with Fallon for that long he felt like he had matured in a way. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had definitely felt something when he was with her. He loved that feeling, and he still had it with him. He was almost positive that he would have it with him for the rest of his life.

…

The next day at work everyone noticed that Spencer was sending his normal go-lucky vibe. They were glad that the old Reid was back, and they hoped it was back for good.

"Hey kid." Morgan said to him that morning. "I'm assuming that everything went well with you and Fallon last night."

"Yeah it did, we decided just to be friends." Reid explained.

"Just like that, there were no arguments?" Morgan asked in curiosity.

"None, we talked things out. Morgan she said that I hold a special place in her heart." Reid explained.

"She cares for you Reid, I'm pretty sure she always will." Morgan explained patting him on the back.

"It feels weird now. I don't have that hole in my heart anymore. You know that longing feeling?" Reid asked.

"No." Morgan stated.

"Well it feels like I can stop looking for the right woman to come along, and the hole feels like it's gone." Reid explained.

"Because that woman in still with you… in a way." Morgan explained.

"Yeah, it feels good." Reid smiled.

"So are you saying that if a girl asks you out you're going to say no from here on out?" Morgan asked.

"I actually haven't thought about that. But really I will probably say no." Reid explained.

"Why?" Morgan asked.

"I already know what love feels like, and I know it couldn't be better than what I felt with Fallon." Reid explained in all honesty.

"You sure kid?" Morgan asked again.

"I'm positive Morgan, nothing can beat it." Spencer said with reassurance.

"Alright, alright," Morgan said before he walked away.

"She was the best thing that ever happened to me…" Spencer whispered with a smile.

"_Some people think that it's holding on that makes one strong; sometimes it's letting go."_

_- Anonymous _


End file.
